Books, booze, brilliance and boring blather

YOU MAY have read a report in this paper last Monday about a new book, The Secret History of Alcoholism, by James Graham (Element Books, £8.99). The article was illustrated with pictures of three writers (plus one spy) - Lillian Hellman, Eugene O'Neill and Ernest Hemingway - and maybe it was merely because Friday was so far away, but I found it depressing to see these renowned writers featured not for their literary achievements but for their love of booze.

It is probably safe to say that nowadays, many people are less likely to know the name of a single novel by Hemingway than to know that he drank a lot and killed himself; less likely to be able to name a play by O'Neill than to know he was a homosexual and a drunk; likely to know little of Lillian Hellman apart from the fact that she was a serious boozer.

This is entirely as a result of political correctness. It is all about bringing creative and talented people down, and globally, the PC crowd are doing a damned fine job of it.

Hence we are also afraid to approve, for example, of Lewis Carroll's genius because we are now supposed to recognise him (all of us being psychologists) as a paedophile, a truly foul slur on a beautiful, harmless man.

Here is the PC news James Barrie was a severe neurotic, Hemingway a misogynist and chauvinist, Nabokov and Lawrence were pornographers. Lawrence was also an adulterer a wife beater and a diseased workaholic. To speak of any of these today merely in terms of their supposed brilliance is foolish and naive.

But James Graham doesn't appear to have much time for the talent and achievement of any "creative" person (in his lexicon, the very words talent and achievement are deeply suspect). Graham argues, according to Monday's article, that "creative writing is an egocentric occupation, offering young alcoholics with alcohol created egomania precisely the sort of short term, ego gratification which they seek.

That's writers for you, and there they were, poor old gin sodden Hellman, O'Neill and Hemingway, dumped right in the middle of a piece about booze soaked egos, damage inflict ion, destruction, fault finding, insensitivity, superficiality, child abuse, denial, manipulation, resentment, rage, infidelity, deceit, superficial charm and "over achievement".

Over achievement is of course one of the newer cultural crimes (and ego, inevitably "bloated", is the driving force). Bart Simpson's Tshirt slogan, "Under achiever and proud of it" represents this backlash, and very powerful it is.

The First Law of PC goes like this: it is a crime to be any more talented in any way than anybody else. To display any evidence of such supposed talent is to boast. To prosper as a result of such alleged talent is anti social and divisive and deeply insulting to the poor and disadvantaged, not to mention those who by their own free will have chosen not to engage in work or any other form of vulgar self advancement. Those who achieve nothing shall inherit the PC world.

Graham's Amendment further states that anyone who does prosper in the creative field is quite likely to be an alcoholic (like 30 per cent of creative writers, supposedly) and thereby a deeply unlovely person whose achievements are entirely negated by virtue of the alcoholism.

Look: it is deeply... boring and unoriginal to point out that alcohol and creative writing regularly go hand in hand, or glass in hand. The dreary PC crowd are of course obsessed with the supposed moral considerations and never give a ought to the more interesting, though mundane, aspects which might actually prove helpful to those involved in literary creation: namely, how to afford the booze, and how to maintain productivity (and standards) while consuming it.

It was easier in the old days, when for example the gang at the Algonquin spent as much time under the round table as at it. The affording part mostly involved freeloading on a grand scale (Dot Parker specialised in lovers who were handsome, stupid and rich), though the productivity/standards question is more difficult.

But maybe - perish the thought - they were just uniquely talented.

I will have more to say about the odious PC crowd next Monday, with particular reference to CORI, the Conference of Religious of Ireland, whose recently expressed views on education I find utterly ludicrous and entirely reductive.

You have that to look forward to. {CORRECTION} 96092500094